


Country Girl, I Love You

by Strickens



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: AU, Adora is buff, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, and too cute for her own good, city slicker catra, country girl adora, how could Catra resist her, mechanic AU, they're still useless lesbians though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:41:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25928317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strickens/pseuds/Strickens
Summary: Catra moves to the country with her roommate Scorpia. It sounds like a terrible idea at first, but what has she got to lose? Besides, she couldn't really stand having to get used to a different roommate at this point.Good thing for her one of the local mechanics just happens to catch her eye, and she'll do anything to keep coming back to see her. Even if it means finding things to 'break' in her own car.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 93





	Country Girl, I Love You

**Author's Note:**

> I started this story a couple of weeks ago as an idea my wife and I shared late one night but I've been busy working on other fics. Decided I might as well upload it and see if people would be interested in me continuing it or not, as the Catradora brainrot is real and I already have so many ideas ;_;  
> If you like it please comment and let me know!  
> Also you can find me on twitter [Here](https://twitter.com/AndarielSummers)

It was days like today that made Catra sincerely regret agreeing to move to a small town with her friend Scorpia with every bone in her body. She’d only just finished unpacking and moving in that week, and of course, on the day where she had a job interview did her pickup decide it wanted to pack in.

It wasn’t the first time she’d had problems with it, far from it. In fact, it had gone through many decades of abuse, even before she’d purchased it for pennies from a talkative guy on Craigslist. He hadn’t shut up the entire time she’d been at his place to inspect the vehicle before purchasing it. She was pretty sure he’d mentioned something about his previous trucks catching on fire but to be honest she hadn’t paid much attention.

Only a few weeks after purchasing it did it break down on the highway, steam pouring out of the bonnet. The money she’d saved on buying it had gone right back into fixing a cracked head, and while she was there she was talked into replacing the worn tires as well.

Several other things had gone wrong with it, and she’d thought she’d managed to finally get it running reliably after several trips to the mechanic and a year without any failures. That was, until now.

Halfway to her appointment, a loud bang had shaken her out of autopilot, followed by the car tugging in the direction of the curb and a flapping sound that could only mean one thing.

Her tire had blown out. How she wasn’t entirely sure. Probably a piece of sheared metal on the road that had fallen off the back of a tradie’s truck or leftover from a car accident. Either way, she’d been stupid enough to be driving without a spare tire. It hadn’t come with a spare and getting one had been on her list of ‘things to do’ that she just never seemed to get around to actually doing.

Flicking through a list of local mechanics on google, she had called each one up to see if they could replace the tire for her that morning, but each and every one of them was booked out. There was only one left on the list she hadn’t tried.

Bow’s Mechanical.

There was no website and the only number for it was a landline. Still, she rang. The tone went through, but after what felt like almost a whole minute no one had picked up.

Chewing on her lower lip, she growled quietly to herself and tried again. Still no answer.

“You’d think if you’d want to run a business you’d know how to answer a damn phone.” She complained to no one, just herself. It felt good to vent.

Turning each way to look down the road, she saw plumes of dust approaching in the distance. Finally. As much as she liked living on the outskirts of town where it was quiet and they had acres of land between them and their nearest neighbour, it also proved to be an inconvenience when you were broken down and your housemate was at work.

Stepping out onto the dirt road she flagged the vehicle down. As it drew nearer a little part of her thanked whatever being might have been looking down on her, it was definitely a truck of some kind and it had a flatbed on the back. She didn’t have to wonder for long though as the vehicle came to a gradual slow, pulling up in front of her pickup truck. The side was painted with red lettering reading “We Tow It”.

Catra could barely conceal her relief.

The driver’s side door opened and a woman jumped out. Her skin was a warm brown and her brunette hair was styled into long dreadlocks. She was wearing a dusty grey shirt and a red striped flannel over the top, the little chest pocket had a hole ripped in it and it looked well-loved.

“Mornin’, looks like you’re in need of a hand?” The woman offered as she approached, an easy smile on her face. Catra returned the smile, extending her hand; the other woman grasped it firmly and gave it a good ol’ fashioned shake that rattled Catra to her bones.

“Hah… uh yeah, I got a flat and I don’t have a spare tyre. I was supposed to be on my way to a job interview. Just my luck huh?”

The other woman chuckled, cocking her head as she did a quick inspection of said flat tire.

“Uyup, darndest thing ain’t it?” Pausing for a moment, she looked Catra up and down. “You new around here?”

Catra shrugged a shoulder, nodding quickly. “Yeah, I’m Catra by the way. And how’d you know?”

“Lonnie,” she grinned, planting hands on her hips. “And I could tell by your accent, it’s not local. Plus, I know most of the folk that live out this way.”

Oh, of course.

“Right, sorry.” Catra shook her head, looked at her watch, then back at Lonnie. “How much for a tow to the repair shop? Even if I don’t make this interview I’d like to get the tire fixed today.”

Lonnie nodded, already heading for the control panel for the hoist on the bed of her truck.

“$65 for a tow, you got a mechanic in mind?”

Catra thought for a moment before a spark went off in her memory.

“Uh yeah… Bow’s Mechanical I think it’s called? All the others were booked out, so it’ll have to do.” She scratched at the back of her neck, watching as Lonnie worked on getting her car hooked up.

“Oh yeah, I know the place. Go there myself.”

They engaged in casual banter as they got into the tow truck together and headed to their destination. Catra hopped out, thanking Lonnie as she dropped off her vehicle in the parking lot of the mechanics and made sure everything was unhooked. Reaching into her wallet she pulled out the necessary amount and handed it over, already internally lamenting the loss of the money that she’d been saving to put towards tickets for the Superbowl and a weekend holiday.

As the tow truck drove off, she made her way to the main office for the mechanic, pushing open the door and walking into the reception. The bell above the door rang, but the front desk was empty. Pursing her lips, she walked up to the desk, peering over to see if someone was hiding out behind there somewhere but to no avail.

Sighing, she waited for a few more minutes in reception before growling to herself and exiting out the door again. She made her way over to the open garage where several cars could be seen inside in various states of repair. There was one up on a lift, and as she entered the area she saw a set of cargo pants and steel cap boots sticking out from underneath a Ford Explorer.

Whoever this guy was she was going to give him a piece of her mind. Ignoring calls, ignoring the doorbell, what kind of way to run a business was that?

“Hey!” She shouted, hands crossed over her chest as she did her very best to sound authoritative and aggravated. There was a loud bang from underneath the car, followed by what sounded like a wrench clattering onto the ground and a soft ‘ouch!’.

Catra’s ears perked up as the boots scraped against the concrete floor, the person under the car rolling out on a wheeled board. She was opening her mouth to launch another tirade when the mechanic finally sat up where Catra could get a clearer look at them.

It was a woman. Hell, female mechanics were already a rarer breed but to find one in a small town like this? Her blonde hair was tied back into a messy ponytail and her white singlet was covered in grease and dirt stains. The woman grunted as she stood, a sheepish grin on her face as she made her way over to her.

As she got even closer Catra could clearly see the definition of her toned arms, thick biceps and rounded shoulders. It took her a few good seconds of staring before she realised she was gawking with her mouth hanging open as the blonde flung a hand in her direction.

“Sorry! Uh, ma’am…. Musn’t’ve heard the bell. I’m Adora, what can I do for ya?”

Adora huh? Catra eyed off the hand extended towards her, noticing the blackened grease all over it just as she was about to shake it, pausing and cocking an eyebrow.

Blushing as she realised, Adora snorted as she laughed before palming her hand all over her already filthy singlet in an attempt to wipe it clean but somehow only managing to get grease on her face as well in the process. Catra grinned.

“Sorry, ‘bout that. Uh so, you got… car troubles?”

Right, the reason she’d came in here in the first place and had completely forgotten about as she stared into those sky blue eyes and somehow found herself insatiably attracted to this dumb blonde who was absolutely, disgustingly and deliciously filthy from head to toe. Car? What car?

Shaking her head, she jabbed her thumb in the direction of the parking lot. “My tire blew out. Can you replace it for me?”

Adora’s eyes lit up, her lips cracking into a crooked grin. “Sure can! Won’t take me long either if you wanna’ wait around while I fix her up.”

If it had been anyone else Catra probably would have politely declined and wandered off to find something better to do, but the prospect of chatting up this gorgeous woman was too good of an offer to pass up.

“Sure.” She replied, hopefully not too quickly. Adora grinned back, following Catra out into the parking lot where the sad, floppy wheeled car had been left.

Without even a second to spare, Adora opened up the driver’s side door, pulling off the hand brake and shifting into neutral before pressing against the door jamb and easing the vehicle into a roll to get it into the shop. Catra watched, wanting to offer to help but at the same time watching the way Adora’s arms and shoulder muscles all bunched up and glistened with sweat underneath the strain. Even still, she made it look effortless on her part.

Once it was in the garage she secured it and got to work, jacking it up.

“So, do you usually ignore phone calls from your customers, or was it just my lucky day?”

Adora chuckled to herself as she got the air wrench out, positioning it onto the wheel nuts.

“Sorry, usually my business partner Bow is here and one of us can get the phone, but he’s on holiday with his wife so it’s up to me to hold down the fort until they get back later this week.”

Well now Catra felt like a bit of a dick. Still, she could have like.. At least hired a receptionist. Or something.

“Right.” She replied, watching Adora work for a bit to pop the wheel off. “So you uh… you lived here long or….” She trailed off.

Huffing, Adora finally managed to tug the wheel off and began to roll it over to the tyre changing tool. She popped it onto the mechanism and started working at it to get the old, deflated tire off.

“Well, my parents adopted me when I was about five years old. Then they had my baby sister and decided to move out here to get away from city life. You know how it is.”

Catra’s eyes widened in surprise, cocking her hip as she looked at Adora more intently.

“Wait, you’re adopted?”

Adora grunted, giving the mechanism a few more turns before the tire popped off the rim. She looked up at Catra, smiling. “Yeah, guess I am.” She watched Catra for a moment before making her way over to a rack at the back of the shop where columns of tires were stored. She perused over them before finding the right one, grabbing it and rolling it over to the wheel rim.

Setting the new tire up, she wiped some dust off the rubber. “What about you, got any family?”

Leaning on a nearby bench, Catra considered for a moment if she wanted to get into it. Eventually she decided she could at least skim the surface.

“I’ve been in the foster system most of my life. Once I was old enough to legally leave home I did, and I’ve been taking care of myself ever since.”

Adora watched her for a moment, a look of sadness in her eyes but not one of pity. Catra appreciated it, the last thing she wanted was pity from a pretty girl.

“You been here long?”

Shaking her head, she watched as Adora skillfully worked the new tire onto the wheel, turning it with practiced precision.

“No actually, moved out here just last week with my roommate. I grew up in the city.”

Adora grinned, finishing up the fitting with a pop before removing it from the machine, rolling it towards her truck. “I kinda’ gathered by your accent.”

Catra glared at her, the corner of her lip ticking up despite herself.

“Like you can talk about accents, country girl!”

Gasping, Adora held a hand to her chest in mock offense. “You wound me with your words!”

Catra chuckled, shaking her head as she watched the blonde fit the wheel back onto the axle and start replacing the bolts. Once it was secured, Adora jogged off to grab the air compressor hose, returning with it to re-inflate the tyre and giving it one last check over to make sure it was secure and not leaking air. She let out a quick sigh, pleased with her job as she lowered the jacks and returned Catra’s old beater to the ground.

“She’s all done and good as new!” Adora announced, grinning as she wiped her grubby hands yet again on her shirt.

“Great, thanks so much. You’re a lifesaver.” Catra checked her watch. She might be running a little late, but it was better late than never.

“I’ll go through to the office and ring you up.” Adora motioned towards reception and Catra nodded, politely exiting the garage and re-entering the office through the front door.

Catra fished out her wallet again out of her back jean pocket, already feeling the dread well up in her throat at how much this was going to cost her. Adora hummed idly to herself as she tapped some numbers into the PC behind the desk; Catra noted the black keyboard and wondered if it had always been that colour or if it had just ended up that way from dirty hands.

“Alright, that’ll be $50 ma’am.” Adora announced, a soft smile on her face.

Eyeing her off, Catra was about to hand over the money but snatched it back at the last second.

“Fifty bucks seems awfully cheap if you ask me, most places I’ve been to charge at least around the hundred mark. You sure you put that into the computer right?”

Shifting uncomfortably, Adora’s cheeks coloured pink and she struggled to make eye contact.

“It’s uh… I uh- well, you see… actually, it’s- well you’re a first time customer and so, you get the first time customer discount! Yeah, it’s like… a thing we do!” Adora stumbled over her words, getting more and more worked up as she went on but eventually settling on that as her story.

Raising an eyebrow, Catra continued to eye her suspiciously but slowly handed the money over this time.

“Right, I guess you’ll make up the profit margin when my car inevitably decides to shit itself again.” She replied, cracking a grin. Adora laughed, a soft and sweet sound that she decided that she liked very much.

“Hopefully not too soon huh?” Adora replied, her voice warm and her eyes sparkling. Catra felt her cheeks get hot.

“Yeah, I’d be so lucky,” she cleared her throat, fishing her keys out of her pocket. “Anyway, I’ve got an interview I gotta’ get to so thanks for fixing the car up for me, you really are a lifesaver.”

Adora’s eyes brightened as she gave a little wave before Catra started to leave. “Anytime!”

Just as she was pushing open the door, she heard the blonde woman call out to her desperately from behind, prompting her to turn and look at her questioningly.

“Sorry! I just realised, I didn’t catch your name?”

Grinning, Catra pushed some of her long brunette hair out of her face and averted her eyes. “It’s Catra.”

“Catra. That’s a really pretty name.” Adora replied, half mumbling out the rest of the sentence. 

At this point the brunette woman was feeling suitably flustered and gave one last wave to Adora before heading out.

~

She was late for the interview. She explained what had happened and that she’d had to get a tow to Bow’s Mechanical and apparently the interviewer knew of the place already and seemed more than understanding of her situation. She’d even asked if Adora was still working there and although it had put her on edge a bit she had said that yes, Adora was working there.

She didn’t know if it was the fact that she had plenty of barista and front of house staff experience or if it was the fact that she already had a small-town connection, but she got the job. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to start making some money.

~

That evening as Catra was lounging on the couch in the shared living room, the door rattled and jiggled, followed by a few gentle exclamations before it finally popped open and Scorpia just about fell face-first onto the ground as she burst through.

“Hey Scorpia.”

“Catra! Oh, hi! I uh, sorry, I’m not interrupting or anything am I? Darn, I need to see about getting this door looked at so it stops jamming all the time.”

Laughing, Catra got up and walked into the open plan kitchen, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched Scorpia put her groceries away.

“Listen, Scorpia I need a favour.”

“A favour? Sure! Anything for you buddy, what is it?”

With a completely neutral expression, Catra stood a little taller before she replied. “I need you to break my car.”

Scorpia stopped what she was doing, looking between Catra and her groceries with wide eyes and a confused expression. “Break… your car?”

“Yes, break my car. Nothing major just… I dunno, losen a cable or something, something small. Should be easy enough, right?”

Furrowing her brow, Scorpia whined softly to herself.

“Catra… I don’t know if I should-”

“-Nope! I don’t care, whatever it is you’re about to say, just do it! You already owe me for dragging me out here to live with you so just get it done!”

Now in an irritated mood, Catra huffed and stormed off to her room, leaving a sputtering and very confused Scorpia standing by herself in the kitchen.

Catra wanted to see Adora again and if this is what it would take to achieve that while also avoiding embarrassment, then it’s what she would have to do.

~


End file.
